Combing machine for textile fibers



J. W. NASMITH COMBING MACHINE FOR TEXTILE FIBERS Dec. 27, 1932. 1,892,317

Filed Dec. 11, 1929 lnvenfor." /m u MA; JMZ .By His fll'lom y Patented Dec. 27, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE COMBING MACHINE FOR TEXTILE FIBERS Application filed December 11, 1929, Serial No.

The invention relates to combing mechanism of the Heilmann, Nasmith and analogous types, and has for objects improvements in the tuft detaching means of such apparatus, for the purpose of increasing the production of combed fibers, simplifying the mech anism, and decreasing the movement of machine parts during the combing.

Numerous attempts have been made in the m combers of the Nasmith type to increase the production of combed'material by augmenting the circumferential path of the rollers employed, e. by rotating the rollers at a higher speed. These attempts however showed that the limit of endurance of the operating mechanism had been reached in the original Nasmith c0mber-British Patent No. 13,7 58 of 190lowing to the small diameters of rollers actually necessary and 2 the necessity of heavily weighting such rollers.

In the modification to my prior British Letters Patent No. 17395 of 1909 an attempt was made to overcome difiiculties which-as set forth in that specificationpresented themselves in the detaching step. A detaching roller making intermittent contact with the combing cylinder segment to form a pair with such segment is shown in the drawings to that specification combined with a pair of carrier rollers which received the combed tuft from the roller and segment for transference to the piecing rollers. This was a failure, as the carrier rollers licked up the fleece, which in that arrangement at that point is always a thin and tenuous veil which cannot be passed through a roller nip without frequent lapping.

The foregoing explanation will make it clear that very small changes in the rollers and in their relationship in the detaching process of combing will make all the differ ence between success and failure. Now I have found that by a very simple combination of and positioning of detaching and piecing rollers, employed with moving nippers in machines of the l asmith, Heilmann or analogous type, a very much greater length can be detached from the nipper tuft in combing short fibers such as cotton, than can be 413,340, and in Great Britain August 3, 1929.

conveniently dealt with subsequently, so that whilst restricting the length detached to manageable limits, a considerable increase in production is still obtainable and the amplitude of movement of the nippers may be reduced to one-half the ordinary amplitude; in the case of the original N asmith comber to less than one-half. In combing short fibers, therefore, increased production per combing head is obtained; in the combing of longer 50 fibers, this reduction of movement permits of the increase of the number of combing heads in a single machine.

My present invention consists in this combination of rollers, and in carrying it into effect I mounta detaching roller so that it may rotate intermittently in the forward direction only and so that it may co-act with the combing cylinder segment to effect the detaching. The intermittent drive of this roller is preferably effected by causing it to make and to break contact with the surface of the said segment. Adjacent to, but out of contact with, the said roller according to the invention is rotatably fitted a pair of piecing rollers preferably of increased diameter, rotated backwardly and forwardly, as usual to effect the piecing.

The upper roller of the piecing roller pair may be very lightly weighted, or indeed may be selfweighted, thus reducing practically to vanishing point the strain on the operating cam and driving mechanism.

This simple arrangement, viz: a detaching roller which co-acts with the combing cylinder segment and need only have sufiicient movement to clear the cylinder needles as they pass, allows of the top piecing roller and the detaching roller itself being set so closely together without actual contact that licking of the fleece is extremely rare. Both rollers having the same direction of rotation, during detaching, their contiguous surfaces move in opposite directions and the one may thus act as a clearer for the other. Similarly during the retrograde rotation of the piecing rollers the detaching roller is stationary, so that the contiguous surfaces never move together in the same direction. The extent of movement of the piecing rollers is quite independ cut of the detaching roller movement and fibers of greatly varying length may therefore be efiiciently treated.

The detaching means according to the invention are suitable for all fibers up to seven inches in length according to the dimensions adopted. When the piecing rollers turn backwards to provide a length of fleece on which the new detached tuft is to be overlaid it is no great disadvantage to allow the fleece thus turned back to be in proximity to the revolving combing cylinder or even to touch it lightly when only short fibers are being dealt with. hen long fibers are to be dealt with, approximating to perhaps one-third the circumference of the cylinder, it is advisable to keep the long length turned back for piecing from contact with the cylinder throughout a part of its length, as friction against the cylinder, moving in the opposite direction to the fleece when it is again being carried forward, is detrimental.

To keep the fleece from too lengthy contact with the cylinder I may employ a supple mentary roller below the lower piecing roller and driven by contact therewith. I may leave this supplementary roller continually in contact with the lower piecing roller or preferably it may be left in contact with the lower I for piecing, revolving cylinder and then taken up between piecing roller only during the retrograde movement of the latter and then dropped out of contact therewith for the remainder of the stroke. When the fleece is turned backwards the end is'carried down by the the lower piecing roller and the above mentioned additional roller so that the forward end of the backed off fleece is kept out of contact with the cylinder.

A description of the invention will now be fully given with reference to the annexed drawing which is diagrammatic, Figure l showing the arrangement of detaching and piecing rollers; and Figure 2 illustrating the addition where thought desirable of the supplementary tuft control roller to which I have earlier referred.

Referring in their positions just as detaching is about to commence. The lowerpiecing roller I, which is rotated backwardly and forwardly by known means, has completed its reverse movement in the direction of the short arrow and is just about to commence its forward rotation in the direction of the long arrow; and the detaching roller D is just about to drop upon the segment S of the combing cylinder Y-which is revolving counterclockwise as shown by the arrowto draw fiber from the nipper tuft N. The top comb C and nipper aws 1 and 2 are shown in position but form no part of this invention The returned piecing end of the already combed fiber is shown at T, and as soon as the tipsof the fibers N touch those of the to Figure 1, the parts are shownend T lying around the roller P, the latter now moving in the direction of the long arrow, they are carried round between this and the upper piecing roller P, the piecing thus being effected.

The roller P may be of considerable di ameter; and may be hollow for lightness as may also the upper piecing roller P They may be fluted and meshed by their flutes if desired.

Although the detaching roller Dniay be positively driven it preferred, as being simpler and more convenient, to allow it to rotat by frictional contact with the cylinder segment S. It may be lifted from and lowered upon such segment by suitable mechanical means. t

It will be noted that as the top piecing roller P rotates comiter-clockwise to redeliver the end for piecing D is stationary and tends to clear I and when P rotates clockwise during the actual piecing movement the detaching roller I) also rotates clockwise, the close 1n-o21imity of these two roller surfaces moving in opposite directions causing them to as clearers the one of the other. Licking of fleece is thus rendered very rare.

The surface of the cylinder segment S may be leather covered and the detaching roller D is then of metal.

n Fi ure is illustrated amcans for con- ;L IDL trolling the end of the n'iaterial returned by the backward movement of the piecing rollers l and P when the fiber being combed is of such a length that such control is advisable to keep such end away from the combing cylinder. For this purpose the auxiliary roller 1 placed close to the cylinder is provided, which roller preferably makes interlttcnt contact with the roller P. The piecing end T passing around roller P enters the nip of the roller shown, the roller P being raised to form such nip. To effect the move mcnt of I it is mounted in bearings 3 on a shank adjustably fitted by the nuts 5 against compression of a spring 6 in a bracket 7 which is an extension from a lever 8 which in the example illustrated carries the bearings of the detaching roller D. Movement imparted byany suitable means around the centre 9 therefore causes simultaneous rise and fall of rollers I) and P The roller P may however if desired be in constant frictional contact with roller I. It is sufiicient in this case to have the bracket lit-(Gd to a part of the framing, the roller bearings 3 being provided as before. Very light nip pressure is suiiicient in both constructions.

When the roller P is employed, a guide such as that shown at 10 may be fitted between the last row of needles of the combing cylinder and the forward end of the segments. In the form shown, this guide 10 is simply a plate which bridges the gap between such last row of needles and the segment, its surface passing in close proximity to the periphery of roller P. The plate may be fitted on the combing cylinder in any convenient manner, for instance by screws, and when short fibers are to be combed it may thus be easily removed to allow the piecing end T to assume the normal position as seen in Figure 1.

I claim 1. In a combing machine of the moving nipper type, as a complete detaching and piecing means for a tuft of short or long fibers presented by the nippers and combed, a combing cylinder segment, and a roller group consisting of a single detaching roller making intermittent contact with such segment for tuft detaching purposes, and a pair of piecing rollers, the detaching roller being in clearing relation with the upper roller of the piecing roller pair but out of actual contacttherewith; and the said piecing roller pair being rotatable alternately backwardly and forwardly in timing with the contact timing of detaching roller and combing cylinder segment, the extent of movement of the piecing rollers being independent of the de taching movement.

2. In a combing machine, a detaching roller making intermittent rotating contact with the combing cylinder segment to form a detaching pair, a pair of independently driven piecing rollers adjacent to but not in contact with such detaching roller and in direct operative combination therewith, and a supplementary lower roller below the lower piecing roller and adapted to form a nip therewith.

3. In a combing machine, a detaching roller making intermittent rotating contact with the combing cylinder segment to form a detaching pair, a lower piecing roller adjacent to but not in contact with the detaching roller, an upper piecing roller rotatably mounted in such close proximity to the detaching roller that each acts as a clearer for the other, and a supplementary lower roller below the lower piecing roller and adapted to form a nip therewith.

4. In a combining machine, a detaching roller making intermittent rotating contact with the combing cylinder segment to form a detachingpair,a pair of independentlydriven piecing rollers adjacent to but not in contact with the detaching roller, a supplementary lower roller below the lower piecing roller and adapted to form a nip therewith, and means for forming such nip intermittently and in synchronism with the piecing up movement of the piecing rollers.

5. In a combing machine, a detaching roller making intermittent rotating Contact with the combing cylinder segment to form a detaching pair, a lower piecing roller adjacent to but not in contact with the detaching roller, an upper piecing roller rotatably mounted in such close proximity to the detaching roller that each acts as a clearer for the other, a supplementary lower roller below the lower piecing roller and adapted to form a nip therewith, and means for forming such nip intermittently and in synchronism with the piecing up movement of the piecing rollers.

6. In a combing machine of the type hereinbefore referred to, a detaching roller making intermittent rotating contact with the combing cylinder segment to form a detaching pair, and in direct operative combination therewith a pair of independently driven piecing rollers adjacent to but not in contact with such detaching rollers, a supplementary lower roller below the lower piecing roller and adapted to form a nip therewith, and a piecing end guide plate on the combing cylinder adapted to pass adjacent to the nip of the lower piecing roller and supplementary roller.

7. I11 a combing machine, a detaching roller making intermittent rotating contact with the combing cylinder segment to form a detaching pair, a. lower piecing roller adjacent to but not in contact with the detaching roller, an upper piecing roller rotatably mounted in such close proximity to the detaching roller that each acts as a clearer for the other, a supplementary lower roller below the lower piecing roller and adapted to form a nip therewith, and a guide plate on the combing cylinder adapted to pass adjacent to the nip of the lower piecing roller and supplementary roller.

8. In a combing machine, a detaching roller making intermittent rotating contact with the combing cylinder segment to form a detaching pair, a lower piecing roller adjacent to but not in contact with the detaching roller, an upper piecing roller rotatably mounted in such close proximity to the detaching roller that each acts as a clearer for the other, a supplementary lower roller below the lower piecing roller and adapted to form a nip therewith, means for forming such nip in synchronism with the piecing up movement of the piecing rollers, and a guide plate on the combing cylinder adapted to pass adjacent to the nip of he lower piecing roller and supplementary roller.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

JOHN WILLIAM NASMITH. 

